Surprise
by MageNellofGalla
Summary: When Irnai gets caught up at court, her heart is broken and left for someone else to pick up the pieces. Written for Tasty Triple Jump for Decathlon at fiefgoldenlake . proboards . com.


Series: Knowing  
Title: River Flows in You  
Rating: PG-13  
Event: Tasty Triple Jump  
Words: 1,902  
Summary: When Irnai gets caught up at court, her heart is broken and left for someone else to pick up the pieces.  
Note: AU where Irnai is actually Anders' daughter because that's the easiest way to bring her into court.

It was the Queen's birthday party. They weren't able to throw the ball on her precise birthday because she'd been helping the Queen's Riders. Now, the royal court went all out. The best dresses of all colors flashed around, the best food served, the grandest music flowing throughout the Great Hall.

She frowned; she felt uncomfortable in this layered blue dress. She'd borrowed it from her aunt, Keladry. It was in a beautiful morning glory blue and it got lighter with every layer of fabric. _Who knew clothes could get this hot,_ she wondered often.

The courses passed with conversations with her (as far as she knew) half-brother. Soon enough, the pages cleared away the tables to make room for dancing.

Irnai looked at Lachren, nervous. "I don't know how to dance."

He smiled. "Don't worry, Irnai. You don't need to dance."

She frowned. "Then why am I even here if I can't finish all the food or dance or anything."

Her brother sighed. "Because you're part of the family now. You have been for months." He gave her a one-armed hug. "Don't tell me that you still don't understand it."

Irnai beamed. "Okay. I suppose that I comprehend the predicament." In truth, she didn't really understand. If she really was Ander's daughter, then how did she end up all the way in Scanra? And if her father was confirmed, who was her mother? Moreover, why did Vorinna, Ander's wife, refuse the tests?

Her family was complicated but she was endlessly thankful that she actually _had _one.

"Do you need me to stay here to keep you company or…?"

Surely, she could sit there by herself. If she ever wanted someone to talk to, certainly Alinna of Trebond wouldn't mind. "Go ahead and have fun. I'll be fine."

"If you insist." But Irnai wasn't fooled; he was already looking around and searching for Tallina, a girl he'd been courting for the past three months.

She giggled; a vision had once told her that her brother would live with the girl happily. But she knew better than to tell him. If she did, then his persistence would fade and Tallina would never say yes.

Long moments passed. Irnai was seriously thinking sneaking out or speaking with Alinna when someone made his way towards her. She gulped, looking into prince Jasson's beautiful hazel eyes.

"Good evening, milady." He smiled broadly and offered a gloved hand. "May I have the pleasure of dancing with you?"

Irnai froze. What was she supposed to do? "Uh —I'm not good at dancing, your highness."

"Come now, I'm sure that you're a wonderful dancer." His eyes twinkled.

She bit her lip. It'd be rude to refuse, right? "If you insist." She accepted his hand and let herself be whisked away to the dance floor.

Irnai timidly placed her left hand on his right shoulder. When he flashed a smile, she blushed and explained, "I've only ever done this with…"

She couldn't say 'brother' because in the public eye, she didn't have one. "Lady Kel's nephew, Lachren," she said quickly.

"Then let's see if practice really does make perfection." She looked up and blushed again before the musicians struck up a waltz.

"I haven't seen you around court," Jasson said casually, drifting around the room with her and trying (and succeeding) to keeping a straight face when she stepped on his toes.

"I'm only an orphaned Seer," she reasoned. "This isn't my place." _And I'd really like to get out of here, right now, _she said inwardly, heart racing in her chest. Jasson was a handsome man, one of the most handsome men that she'd ever held hands with.

"Then, and I don't mean to be rude, why are you here?"

And there was that question once again. The odd, puzzling question that tugged at her when she was with her new family.

Irnai gulped and thought up the best answer she could. "Er— well, L—lady Keladry… She let me live with her for a while a few months back. And she… Er… wanted me to come here with her."

He cocked a raven black brow. "Then why weren't you sitting with her?"

She looked at him with wide green eyes, alarmed. "How do you know who I'm sitting with?"

It was his turn to blush. "I assure you that I wasn't stalking, milady. I simply spotted a new face. I figured that it'd be nice to say hello."

Irnai frowned. "Do you do this to every new girl at court?"

"Only the special ones." He grinned.

She pursed her lips. She wasn't used to people like this—people who complemented her all the time, made her red like a painter did an apple. _Just live through this one dance,_ she thought. _And you'll be rid of him._

"There's a rumor going around," he said casually. "It seems quite interesting. And it seems very close to the truth. Surely, you know of it." Jasson looked at her sharply. "It _is_ about you; you should."

Irnai studied his face. Was he lying? "Interesting, but I don't care much about the lies told against me. _I_ know what's the truth and that's all that matters."

He smiled slightly. She was a refreshing young girl. "Then it'd be wonderful if you could tell me the truth."

"I don't even know what rumor you're talking about," she said, growing a defensive shell. "You ought to be specific."

"I didn't think that you'd want it uttered in public. But I suppose that we'll never be able to be in a private place, am I right?"

"I suppose so," she said thoughtfully.

The prince leaned down, instead, to whisper in her ear. "Are you really the illegitimate child of Anders and Vorinna of Mindelan?"

She gasped. "No, I certainly am not. I'ven't the slightest indication as to who the source of that atrocious incompetence is from." _It's not a complete lie,_ she told herself. _We still don't know if I'm Vorinna's daughter or not._

"You're an odd young lady," he said, tilting his head to look at her. "Why has your vocabulary suddenly expanded?"

The green-eyed 'young lady' bit her lip. Tobe had always said that her words became long when she was lying. "I— I…" She trailed off as the music came to an end. "I must go. Good bye. Please tell Lachren that I left because of a headache."

Nine years of practice with Alanna and Numair had taught her to control her visions and know when one was coming. She bowed hastily and left, muttering an apology. When she finally weaved through the crowd and made it to a balcony, she sighed, thankful for the break.

An image overwhelmed her vision: A wrist with a bite mark on it.

The picture was gone quickly, leaving her wondering.

"Hey, Irnai," A voice came from behind her. "I knew you'd be out here somewhere."

She turned and found Tobe in white breeches and a long green tunic over a white shirt. "Hey," she said, smiling. She tucked away her vision for the night; surely, the meaning would appear to her somehow.

"I saw you dancing with Prince Jasson." He tried a smile but it looked more like he was trying to scratch something by only twitching his lips.

"He's a rather good dancer, if I were to judge." She shrugged. "But I hardly ever dance so who am I to judge?"

He looked down, hands laced behind his back. Irnai was worried; the last time she'd seen him like this was when he gave her eardrops without knowing that she hadn't gotten her ears pierced yet. "D'you like him? Because I hear he's the court heartthrob and it wouldn't be unco—"

She gasped and blushed. "Why would you ask me that?" she snapped. "I've only known the man for less than two hours." The seer didn't need to be polite with one of her best friends.

Tobe looked up and smiled, blue eyes dancing. "Good. That's excellent, in fact."

Irnai crossed her arms. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, Irnai," he said dismissively, making so that he could lean on the railing with her. "You look beautiful in that dress. Midnight blue really suits you."

She sighed. "Oh, please. Do _not_ compliment me tonight. If I had my druthers, I'd go compliment-free for the rest of the evening."

"Why? Did Jasson already shower you in some?" he said, amusement in his voice. She nodded.

A frown marred Tobe's face and she noticed. "What's wrong."

The ugly expression was erased and replaced with questioning brows. "Oh, nothing. I'll just try my best _not _to compliment you."

Irnai laughed gave him a one-armed hug. "Thanks. You really are awesome."

He blushed. "I try my best; most of the females I'm around are mares."

Once she recovered from giggling, she said, "Hey, do you know what this weekend?"

"Oh, that reminds me!" He took something out of his pocket. It was a velvet case. "Here. An early birthday present." They didn't actually know Irnai's birthday but they made one up: August the twenty-fourth, if only because her favorite number was twenty-four and her favorite month was August.

She gasped and took it. "Thank you so much!" She gave him a bone-crushing hug and opened the box. Inside was a sapphire necklace. "Oh, this is beautiful. It must've cost a fortune."

"It wasn't much, really," Tobe said, red as a tomato. "Here, let me put it on. Turn around." She obeyed and Tobe clipped it at the back, calloused fingers brushing the back of her neck.

She turned and smiled gratefully. "Thanks again, Tobe. You're the best."

He gave a lopsided smile. "I hoped you'd like it."

"Come on, maybe I can introduce you to the prince." She dashed inside, hauling Tobe with her.

"I really don't want to," he said. "I don't think we'll get along."

Irnai stopped. "That's true. I didn't like him either."

"But it seems like he's taken an interest in _you,"_ he muttered.

"What was that?"

Tobe glanced at her. "Nothing. Oh, look. Here he comes."

"Are you alright, Irnai? I was worried," the prince said to the seer.

"I was fine. Tobe was here." She beamed at the horse-hearted boy to see him glaring at Jasson; her smile faded.

"My apologies, prince—" He turned to look at her. "—Irnai. But I'm feeling a bit under the weather."

She smiled at the hazel-eyed man. "I'm afraid that I must also turn in. I'm not yet used to sleeping so late."

Jasson frowned. "Alright. But I hope we will meet in the future."

And so Irnai and Tobe left the ballroom. "What was that about?" Irnai asked.

"I really am under the weather," Tobe snapped.

She snorted. "Fine. Tell me when you're over the weather, then, mister rain." She stormed off in the direction of her room and slept uneasily.

* * *

The next day, she saw Tobe sporting a black eye. "What happened to you?" she asked, any of the previous night's bitterness already melted away.

"Horse tried to dislodge master Numair," he explained with a sheepish smile. "I'm fine."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "If you say so." Later that day, she was surprised to see Jasson with an animal bite mark on his wrist and a bruise on his cheek. Or maybe, she shouldn't've been surprised.


End file.
